Chicken and Rice Skillet - Gluten and Dairy Free

You have to think a little in advance for this recipe, but it is so simple to throw together, it is worth it. 

Chicken and Rice Skillet - Gluten and Dairy Free

5 carrots, diced 

2-3 celery, diced 

1/4 of an onion, diced, if desired 

2 chicken breast, sliced into 4 pieces each

1 tsp. salt 

1/4 tsp pepper 

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano 

1 1/4 c. brown rice 

3 c. chicken broth 

Cook veggies for a few mins in a skillet, until softened.  Add chicken and spices and cook for 3-5 mins more, turning chicken.  Add rice and broth.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and turn down heat, to low.  Cook for 50-60 mins until chicken is cooked through and rice has absorbed the broth.

Enjoy!  

Peaches and Cream Crockpot Steel Cut Oatmeal - Gluten Free Dairy Free

***One of my children has become severely allergic to oats...so while I do make this for the rest of the family occasionally, I don’t do it very often.***

When I know the next morning is going to be rushed, busy, and early I love to put breakfast in the crockpot the night before.  There's nothing better than having a warm, home cooked breakfast ready to go for you first thing in the morning. 

This recipe can be thrown together in just minutes before you head to bed. It is a favorite in this house! 

Peaches and Cream Crockpot Steel Cut Oatmeal - Gluten Free Dairy Free 

1 1/2 c. steel cut oats 

6 c. water

1 can (15 oz) peaches, drained 

1 tsp. cinnamon 

1/2 tsp. salt 

After draining peaches, stick knife in can and chop the peaches up. Add all ingredients to crockpot and stir. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.  Serve with brown sugar (if desired) and milk of choice. 

Crockpot Chicken and Rice Soup - Instant Pot too!

EDIT: Instant Pot version below - using frozen chicken!

This picture drives me crazy. All dark-ish and kinda gloomy looking.  It reminds me of the days we've been having.

Also, I am absolutely frozen to the core.  I feel like I may never thaw out. 

While I am suffering through trying to survive this horrible winter blessed amount of snow we are having, I can think of eating nothing but soup. 

Just try to imagine that this picture looks as good as I promise this soup tastes.  It is FANTASTIC and warms you to the core.

Crockpot Chicken and Rice Soup

2 boneless, skinless frozen chicken breasts

1/4 small onion, chopped (if desired)

garlic, to taste

4 large carrots, chopped

3 celery, chopped 

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper 

1/4 tsp. sage 

1/2 tsp. thyme

3 bay leaves 

6 cups of chicken broth 

3/4 c. brown rice (Quinoa works just as well for a little change) 

Put all ingredients, except the rice, in the crockpot and cook for 1 hour on high.  Add the 3/4 c. of brown rice and lower heat to low and continue to cook for 4 more hours.  

After the 5 hours total cooking time, remove chicken breasts, shred, and return to soup.  Remove the bay leaves. 

Serve with either some delicious corn bread or some wonderful breadsticks, and you'll be doing just fine! 

Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup - Gluten and Dairy Free

-Add all ingredients to the instant pot and cook on High Pressure for 20 mins.  

-Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 mins, then quick release the remaining pressure.  

-Shred the chicken and stir back in. 

Enjoy! 

Kitchen Tips

You want to save time? 

You want to be healthier?

You want to "extend" your meat?

You want to save money?

Do this: 

*Brown 3-6 pounds of ground beef at a time. 

*Ground up 24 ounces of mushrooms in your food processor and add to the meat, cooking them down with it. 

*Freeze the mushroom/meat mixture.

*Break off parts of it as needed, throwing it into any recipe calling for ground beef. 

No one will ever know.  I promise.  I have fed this to tons of people, even people not in my family, and no one has ever guessed anything was different. 

Mushrooms, while not technically a vegetable, offer many of the same health benefits. 

And . . . they are much cheaper than meat! When I checked last, mushrooms were $2.86 per pound and ground beef was $3.49 per pound. 

Why not save money and get healthier at the same time? 

Why not indeed.  

Mom's Casserole - Gluten Free Dairy Free Hamburger Helper

 Growing up we never had "Hamburger Helper". In fact, I still have never had it, so I don't even know what it tastes like, but I think it is something like this. 

My mom use to make this all the time, and this is her recipe all free of our allergens and full of added veggies.  

We do not do a lot of noodles now days, but on the rare occasion we do, this is the kind we like: 

 Mom's Casserole - Gluten and Dairy Free Hamburger Helper

~1 lb. of ground beef 

salt, pepper, garlic

small can of mushrooms (or fresh, if have)

green, yellow, red bell peppers, chopped 

diced onions, if desired

2 cans of stewed tomatoes (chop the tomatoes up)*

2 cans of tomato sauce

1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 

3 cups dry macaroni noodles, cooked

Brown the ground beef and add the spices and veggies and cook till veggies are softened.  Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce.  Add Worcestershire sauce and simmer a few mins.  Add cooked noodles and bake at 350* for 10-20 mins. 

*If you make this during the summer time, feel free to chop up all the millions of tomatoes you have coming out of your garden and use in place of the stewed tomatoes. 

**Because GF products are expensive, I like to cook 1 C of GF noodles for the gluten free kids, and 2 C of regular noodles for everyone else.  Just split the sauce between them.